The Brazilian indigenous peoples, the Deni, celebrate the completion of the demarcation of their land after more than 18 years of campaigning.
The Deni land demarcation will create an "ethno-environmental"
corridor of more than 3,600,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest,
linking eight indigenous lands. This corridor, which has not been
studied scientifically, will ensure the exclusive use of forest
resources by populations of more than 2,400 individuals, including
the Hi-mariman, an indigenous group numbering less than 200, who
have had no contact with non-indigenous peoples.
The demarcation of indigenous lands is an efficient method of
protecting the Amazon rainforest, which is under threat from
thousands of logging companies. The great majority of these
companies operate in an illegal and predatory manner: fires;
progress in agriculture and cattle ranching; and projects that
ultimately open the heart of the Amazon to destruction. Satellite
images of the Brazilian Amazon revealed increased deforestation.
The Brazilian Government estimated that between August 2001 and
August 2002, the equivalent of five million football pitches were
destroyed. This represented an increase of 40% in deforested areas
in only one year, but it also revealed that indigenous lands were
currently spared from this destruction (2).
"The demarcation of the Deni land is a historical step for all
those who fight to reverse the trend of ancient forest destruction
around the world; through the work with traditional communities,
the establishment of protected areas and by the enforcement of
law", said Nilo D'Avila, Greenpeace Amazon Campaigner. "After four
years of working with the Deni to win the rights to their land, we
are convinced that the preservation of the Amazon biodiversity,
which is threatened by economic interests and an unsustainable
pattern of consumption, will only be guaranteed if it is done in
partnership with the people who take care of the Amazon forest as
Since 1999, Greenpeace has campaigned for the demarcation of the
Deni land, an area of 1,530,000 hectares located in the valley
between the Purus and Juruá rivers. At that time, Greenpeace was
investigating the purchase of 313,000 hectares of forest by the
Malaysian logging giant WTK, who intended to explore the region to
find timber to produce plywood for exports. WTK has a poor track
record of disrespecting the law and Indigenous Peoples' rights in
countries where the company is active. During field investigations,
Greenpeace discovered that half of the lands purchased by
WTK--150,000 hectares--overlapped the Deni territory.
The Deni had begun their demarcation through official channels
in 1985, but the process proved extremely slow. Now aware of the
threat from WTK, they asked Greenpeace to assist in protecting
their traditional land. At first, they tried to accelerate the
official process of identification of the Deni boundaries in order
to have their land demarcated by 2001. However, this process failed
after becoming tied up in 'red tape', so the Deni chose to
self-demarcate their land with help from Greenpeace.
"We will never leave our land", said Kubuvi Deni, one of the
leaders. "We need this land to survive. We need to hunt and fish to
have food. To do that, we need a lot of space".
Following the determination of the Deni, Greenpeace contacted
CIMI and OPAN--two Brazilian organizations with expertise in
working with Indigenous People in the Amazon--and, together, they
developed a project to teach the Deni the necessary skills to
recognize the borders of their land and take charge of the
demarcation process. According to Ivar Busatto, from OPAN, "the
fact that we were asked to help out other groups and to enter into
a fight to give the Deni the recognition and rights they deserve,
was extremely important".
In September 2001, the Deni began to self-demarcate their
territory. Greenpeace sent 13 volunteers to the region and a
helicopter to support the work (3). For over a month, the group
worked under harsh conditions in the forest, until the Brazilian
Ministry of Justice ordered the self-demarcation to stop and the
non-governmental organisations to leave the area. However, the Deni
refused to stop, and eventually after negotiation, the efforts were
recognized: in October 2001, the Minister of Justice at that time,
Jose Gregori, signed the Declaratory Act recognizing the rights and
exclusive use of these lands for the Deni. In May 2003, the
official demarcation finally started and the process has now been
"The Deni fight for the demarcation of their land is an example
of determination of an Indigenous People who took matters into
their own hands", said Paulo Adário, Greenpeace Amazon Campaign
Coordinator. "It is a live testimony in defense of keeping the
Amazon resources in the hands of those who can better protect them:
the traditional populations who live in the forest. It is something
that deserves to be celebrated."
Notes: 1. CIMI: Missionary Indigenous Council (www.cimi.org.br); OPAN: Native Amazon Operation (www.opan.org.br) – both Brazilian organizations have a lot of experience working with Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon. 2. According to INPE (National Institute of Space Research), e Amazon destruction in 2002 reached the unacceptable rate of 25,460 square kilometers, the second largest rate in history.3. The 13 Greenpeace volunteers who took part on the Deni land self-demarcation project are from Brazil, Chile, the U.K., the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Germany, Austria, the U.S. and China.4. The SETAG company, employed by FUNAI (Brazilian Governmental Agency in charge of Indigenous issues) and responsible the physical demarcation of the Deni land, began its work in May 2003. The process included opening visible trails in the forest and placing signs to identify the indigenous land. The demarcation was funded by PPG7 resources (the pilot program of the 7 richest countries in the world for the Amazon protection) and by Brazilian government.